how much broth from a whole chicken?

[Mr_Dove]

I like to cook a whole chicken to make chicken soup but I suspect that I'm not getting all the broth out of the cooking that I should. I usually just add water until the bird is fully covered but the last time I only ended up with about 8 cups of stock.

I figure that I could easily add some water after cooking to get the right concentration of flavor. How much end product should I have from a whole chicken?

 

[Andy M.]

I've never make stock that way. When I make stock from bones and meat (from multiple chickens saved up), I add water to cover and simmer for hours. Then I strain out the solids and reduce it further to concentrate the flavors. Adding water to get more reduces the flavor.

 

[CharlieD]

Not sure about stock, but to make normal plain chicken soup for a 3 pound chicken I use about 4 quart pot, no adding water at the end. If cooked right it will give the good concentration/consistancy chicken soup.